ATDRSS program overview

The authors provide an overview of the evolution of the space network from the tracking and data relay satellite system (TDRSS) structure of today to the advanced TDRSS (ATDRSS) structure of the early 21st century. The TDRSS, with its White Sands Ground Terminal (WSGT), is an integral part of the overall NASA space network that will continue to evolve in the 1990s. Central ingredients of this evolution are the construction of the second TDRSS ground terminal, an upgraded WSGT, and an ATDRSS follow-on to the current TDRSS that must be in operation by the late 1990s. Multiple ATDRSS architectural candidates have been identified, and a series of technical tradeoff assessments have been conducted. As a result of these assessments, key ingredients of a future ATDRSS baseline architecture have been defined and initial concepts for transition to an ATDRSS-oriented space network have been developed